Binder for catalogues and the like



May 25, 1943. .1. SCHADE BINDER FOR QATALOG AND THE LIKE 2 Sheets-Sheet l I Filed Aug. 3, 1942 INVENTOR J/I/Y Jew/w:

ATTO EYS J. SCHADE BINDER FOR CATALOG AND THE LIKE May 25, 1943.

Filed Afig. 3, 1942 2 She e ts-Sheet 2' INVENTOR Jo/r/v 601/10:

Patented May 25, 1943 John Schade, 'Holyoke, Mass, assignor to National Blank'Book Company, Holyoke, Mass, a corporation of'Massachusetts ApplicationAugust 3, 1942, Serial No. 453,330

4 Claims.

This invention relates to an improvement in catalogu binder constructions. In one sense it is a loose leaf post binder construction; But it is particularly adapted for use to hold a number of separate catalogues in one binder of the loose leaf sort. In this sense the improved binder, while it may be used as aloose leaf binder of the post binder type, is adapted especially for use in temporarily binding a set of otherwise separate catalogues or the like and in conveniently assembling and disassembling such a set in the binder. I I V Y a The character of the improvement will be seen best from the detaildisclosu're. It-consists in the particular combination of the clutch mechanism construction related to the other elements of the binder with which such mechanismworks. By the combination the beneflt to the manufacturer in making it is inits economy of construc tion; the benefit to the public in usingit is in the general efficiency of the ,new binder with respect to convenient'operation and the lasting quality of its inexpensive structure;

To disclose the invention I'refer to the accolnpanying drawings, in which- I Fig. 1 is a plan view of the binder, when empty, .with'the mechanism carried on one back portion in position for assembly with'the mechanism carriedby the other back portion. The covers hinged to the back portions are broken away to save space; I V

Fig. 2 is a section on 2 -2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 2 except that the-parts have been moved to positions they occupy when the binder has contents or pack equal in thickness to the distance, between the binding flanges, as indicated, and when such contents are then looked in bythe clutch mechanism associated with the flanges; Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the binding plate free of, the right-hand back portion. The right-hand cover has been broken away;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged plan view of that portion of Fig. l which shows the clutch casing;

' Fig. 6 is an enlarged plan view'oi that portion ofthe book binder which contains the clutch casing showing the book in closed position. The top plate of the clutch casing has been broken away to show the interior; a

Fig. '7 is a view' similar to Fig. 6 except, that the clutch has been released and the right-hand back portion is being withdrawn;

Fig. 8 is a section on 8-8 of Fig. 6;, and Fig. 9 is a view taken on 9 9 of Fig. 8.

j'rhe binder indicated, apart from its match,

consists in the following elements. Cover a'is hinged to back portion b, while coverc is hinged to back portion d;'portion bcarries flange e which is integral with plate ,1 riveted on the face of portion b; in a like manner back portion d carries flange g and plate '11; flange g carries binding posts 9', overhanging portion 01; the. outside posts 7' are adapted to telescope with hollow posts 7 k carried by a stiifplate Z. The inner post 7" has no corresponding hollow post to cooperate with, but is firmly mounted in'a manner to be described later. The structure isjsuch that catalogues with suitable binding holes in their margins may be threaded on either posts 9' or lc. 'All the catalogues maythen be brought together by telescoping posts j and 7c. When flange g is pressed against the'catalogues on one side and plate I. on the other side, the binding margins of all catalogues are tightly packed into binding condition. By moving plate Z with respect to flange g the binding is loosened;

One acquainted with the art will'recognize the convenience of mounting catalogues, some, on posts a" and some on posts It, assembling and disassembling the total pack and manipulating the work of adding, subtracting; or rearranging the order of catalogues in the pack. Plate Zfwith posts It is entirely separable from flange g. Any fraction of the pack can be mounted on one, with the remainder of the pack on the other for separation and handling and arranging, while the catalogues rest in horizontal position; When arranged, the posts aresimply telescoped together. It remains to releasably bind the whole pack, as assembled, for example, and, most conveniently, the whole assembled pack is laid flatwise on one cover with flange g underneath and'plate Z on top. Thus the other cover is assembled and the pack held between both covers. It= isthis final binding operation and an initial unbinding operation in relation to the elements above'described, for which my improvement is particularly conceived. f

In my improvement the final binding and initial unbinding operations are accomplished by mechanism which I will now describe. l 1

This "mechanism is a clutch.- Its casing is formed from a sheet metal stamping- I. Its flange Zisriveted to flangee'. ';The bottom wall 3 overhangs plate f just enough to allow plate i and back portion d to slide underneath, while'flat prong 4 can go in and come out of the clutch casing through a hole 5. The latter is stamped in vertical wallB of the'casingas shown in Figs.

5, 6, and The prong fl has an upturned portion 4' which lies flat against the back of the flange 9, see Fig. 4. In assembling, prong 4 is pushed through a slot in the flange g; and the posts 7'", the flange g, and the upturned portion 4' are riveted together. This not only forms a rigid mounting for the prong 4, but eliminates the necessity of further reenforcing the post :i.

The top wall 1 of the clutch casing overlies wall 3 enough to give space for parts of mechanism in the casing. Such parts operate automatically to clutch prong 4 when it is pushed in through hole 5. The prong 4 is unclutched by manually pulling outwardly another fiat prong 8 against a spring 9 tending to hold it against outward movement.

Referring to Figs. 6 to 9, prong 8 extends outside of the clutch casing through an opening ID in flange 2 and an aligned opening II in flange e. The prong 8 ends in a downwardly and then backwardly bent portion l2, which arrangement makes the end I 2 hook-shaped. This end portion l2 hooksloosely'onto a pivot l3 which lies across an opening l4 in finger plate IS. The latter has a little tab l6 projecting downwardly, one adjacent each lower corner. These tabs are adapted to enter a pair of narrow spaced slots I! in flange c extending from its lower edge. The upper edges of flange e and flange 2 have circle segments l8 extendin downwardly to facilitate contact, when desired, with the finger plate l5. They are normally covered by the top of plate l5, which is spring-pressed to this covering position by the spring pull of prong 8.

When ones finger engages the top of plate and pulls outwardly, the plate pivots by engagement of the lower edge between the corner tabs. Such edge engages the outer surface of flange e. It is kept in engagement by the spring resistance pulling through hook l2 engaging its pivot pin IS. The bottom edge engagement is that of a sliding pivot on flangeef The hook pivot l3 also slides relatively from the top toward the bottom of the hook. And the arrangement is such that the finger plate pivots can slightly pass centers in a toggle m vement; Thus, when the plate I5 is -in substantially horizontal position it is held there automatically by the hold of the spring pull through prong 8( The finger plate is about the same thickness as the rivet heads holding the clutch casing to flange e, as shown in Figs. 5 and 9. Ahole l9 admitsoverlapping of one of these rivet heads with the plate when the finger plate is vertical. The arrangement is such that the finger plate is hardly noticeable when vertical,

as whenthe binder is in ordinary use as a book. As can be seen, the whole clutch case and all clutch mechanism are located so that they are nicely hidden when the contents are bound in as wanted for book use.

I refer now to the rest of the mechanism-that which is inside the clutch casing. Assuming that the books contents have been changed as desired and are loosely held between the platel and the flange g, mounted on the two sets of telescoped posts a and k, and the post j; the two book portions are then brought together, the back portion d carrying the plate 2' slidingbetween the back portion b carrying the plate I and the bottom wall 3 of the clutch casing l. The flat prong 4, as has been previously described, enters a slot 5 in the end wallfi of theclutch casing I. It engages the clamping jaws of a holding plate 2| and turns. the plate sufficiently on the pivot formed by the rivet 22 to permit its unobstructed passage between the jaws'zll and between the guideway formed by the two .guide rails 23 struck down from the upper wall 1 of the clutch casing. The plate 2| is held against revolving in this direction by the spring 24, one end of which is held by tab 25 struck up from the plate 2|, while the other end is held by a downwardly struck portion 26 of the top wall 1 of the clutch casing. This relative inward movement of the right-hand book portion may continue until the book contents are firmly bound between the flange g and the plate I. Plate-Z will abut the flange 2 of the clutch casing I in this position.

Any attempt to separate the two book portions, thus withdrawing the prong 4 from its position between the jaws 20 of the holding plate, is resisted by the action of the tooth-like points of the jaws biting into the edges of the prong 4. This action is due to the location of the pivot at the lower right-hand end of the holding plate. Any tendency to rotate the plate serves to lock the teeth tightly against the prong 4, effectively clamping the book pack and locking the two book covers together.

The release of the lock is very simple. When it becomes necessary to add or subtract or rearrange the contents of the book pack, the lock" is released by means of the finger plate l5, This finger plate is pulled outwardly to the position shown in Fig. '7, and in so doing carries with it the prong 8, as has previously been described. This prong 8, which overhangs plate 2|,hafi: 2, depending finger 21 at the end within the clutch casing, and this finger projects into a rectangue lar opening 28 punchedin plate 2l. When the clutch mechanism is in the locked position as in 1 Fig. 6,the finger 21 is out of contact with the sides of the opening 25. When thefinger plate I5 is turned down to the position shownin Figf'l', howeventhe prong 8 with its depending finger 21 is carried outwardly until the finger contacts the left-hand side of the opening 28. This moves the plate 2| around the pivot 22 until the teeth of the jaws 20 are parallel with the edges of the prong 4, and in releasing position shown in Fig. 7, thus leaving the prong land with it the whole right-hand book portion free to be withdrawn.

The final clutched position of the binder parts is well indicated in Fig. 8. This is referred to as an indication of the cooperation between clutch and book parts. Here the binder back portions, the back plates integral with the binding flanges, the clutch casing plate 3, are all piled .flatwise together. They occupy little space. The clutch casing, i. e., the space between walls 3 and 1, is spaced just enough for receiving the main operating clutch parts, i. e., the flat dog plate, the flat holding prong, and the flat release prong. Then the finger plate is flatwise against the binder flange when the book is closed. The whole errangement, substantially as illustrated, makes the strong, efficient, inexpensive structure formy purpose! What I claim is:

1. A binder construction adapted for a setof separate cataloguesjor, the like, which consists in a loose leaf-binder mechanism of. the postbinder type having covers, a'two-part separable back portion. one hinged to each cover and arranged for backportion adjustment ing the'sepa'rate back portions into various overlapping positions, each back portion having an upstanding flange adjacent its hinge line, ad'- justable post elements, mounted to extend into overhanging' 'relation from opposite. flanges; and (:b'mbin d' Withthstrudtill b f Sllbh 3/ bifldel' a clutch mechanism arrangedto automatically hold the back portions in adjusted position against separating movement while permitting move-- ment into further overlapping position, said mechanism comprising a spring-pressed pivoted cramping member overlying one back portion, a prong fastened in rigid relation to and overlying the other back portion and positioned to engage said cramping member to push it out of cramping position on inward movement overlapping the back portions and to engage and pull the same into cramping position on outward movement so as to prevent separation of the overlapping back portions, a movable arm engaging said cramping member to independently move it out of cramping position on the prong when desirable for separating the back portions, a finger-operated member pivoted adjacent the lower edge of the upstanding flange and pivoted also to the end of saidmovable arm, said member having its upper end normally spring-pressed against the upper margin of said flange whereby the operators finger may engage said upper end, move the said member on its pivot and thereby move the arm to disengage the cramping member from said prong.

2. The structure of claim 1 in which said structure the finger-operated member is in the form of a thin fiat plate with tabs on its lower edges engageable in spaced slots provided in the adjacent upstanding flange arranged for a sliding bottom pivot construction, and a hook-shaped engagement between said plate and the end of the movable arm toprovide a higher pivot of loose enough form to work with the bottom pivot construction, said pivot constructions being positioned so as to provide a toggle movement whereby the flat plate can be swung outwardly to substan'tially horizontal position and be held in such position by the toggle lock' arrangement against the spring return tendency of said movable arm.

3. In a binder construction of the type as generally shown and having separable back portions with upstanding binding flanges along their inner edges of such portions, posts adapted to hold hole-punched paper and arranged to extend from the upper margins of opposite binding flanges,

overlying the backportions and spaced above them as usual, the combination with said construction of a clutch structure for the back portions, comprising a one-piece casing member of sheet material having a vertical portion with a bend at the bottom joining a horizontal portion with a bend at its outer end joining a short vertical portion with a bend at its upper end joining a horizontal portion extending toward the first vertical portion and overlying the other horizontal portion, the first vertical portion being fastened fiat against an adjacent binding flange for support and thus positioned to hold the first horizontal portion in sufliciently spaced relation just enough above the adjacent back portion to admit sliding passage of the other back portion on the former one without interference from the clutch casing, a flat prong mounted rigidly on the bindhorizontally out of the casing and through an opening in the adjacent binding flange where it is provided with a hook-shaped end, a flat finger member having a horizontal pivot portion engaged by said hook-shaped end as a hinge plate and pintle arrangement, said flat plate being spring-pressed to lie normally flatwise against an outer face of its adjacent binding flange, the

bottom edge of such plate provided with inwardly bent means to engage vertical slot means at the lower edge of said flange for guidance while the edge itself bears against the face of the flange for sliding pivotal movements, the upper edge portion of said flat plate being positioned with relation to the upper edge of the flange for finger engagement, the whole adapted so the flat plate may be finger-operated to swing outwardly to unclutch said prong, all adapted for a simple, unobtrusive, efiicient, economical binder clutch combination. v

4. In a post binder construction of the type described having a two'part separable back portion with upstanding binding flanges, the combination of a binder clutch mechanism, said I mechanism comprising a flat prong and means for rigidly attaching it to protrude into overhanging parallel relation just above the bottom of one back portion, a generally flat shallow sheet metal clutch casing having a flange for rigidly attaching it to protrude parallel and into overhanging relation to the other backportion with an opening to receive said flat prong, a spring-pressed dog plate in the clutch casing automatically operable to permit prong movement in one direction and prevent it in the opposite direction, a spring-pressed fiatprong operable on said dog plate with a lost motion connection and movable to actuate the dog plate into non-holding position, a fiat finger plate adapted normally to lie snugly against one of the upstanding binding flanges and pivoted to the actuating plate and said flange with a toggle arrangement, all for the purpose described.

1 JOHN SCHADE. 

